Mary's (bell7's) Reads in 2022 - Thread #11

Welcome to my eleventh thread of the year! Thanks for your visits, book recommendations, and general chatter continuing to make this the largest post numbers I've ever had since joining the 75ers in 2010.

If you've never met me, hello and welcome, my name's Mary and I live and work in western Massachusetts. I'm a librarian, a home owner, the oldest of 5, and Auntie Mimi to Mia and Matthew. I'm a fan of Giants football, Bruins hockey, and tennis. I read all sorts of fiction and nonfiction, though SFF and books about books are among my favorites. The most common genres I've read so far this year are general fiction, fantasy, historical fiction, and bio/memoir, in that order. Horror is about the only genre I avoid on the whole (I am a wimp).

My 2022 reading goals:
-Read at least half books by authors of color (I'm currently at 39%, and working on getting it up)
-Read at least one book a month in the Asian Book Challenge (I haven't necessarily read them *in* the giving month, but I have been consistent with this)
-Read at least twelve books from countries outside of the US/UK (complete)

Rough guide to my rating system:
I'm fairly generous with my star ratings - generally a four is a "like" or "would recommend" for me, while a 4.5 stars is a book I would reread. I break it down roughly like this:

1 star - Forced myself to finish it
2 stars - Dislike
2.5 stars - I really don't know if I liked it or not
3 stars - Sort of liked it; or didn't, but admired something about it despite not liking it
3.5 stars - The splitting hairs rating of less than my last 4 star book or better than my last 3
4 stars - I liked it and recommend it, but probably won't reread it except under special circumstances (ie., a book club or series reread)
4.5 stars - Excellent, ultimately a satisfying read, a title I would consider rereading
5 stars - A book that I absolutely loved, would absolutely reread, and just all-around floored me

I see it more in terms of my like or dislike of a book, rather than how good a book is. My hope is that as a reader I convey what I like or what I don't in such a way that you can still tell if you'll like a book, even if I don't. And I hope for my patrons that I can give them good recommendations for books they will like, even if it's not one I would personally choose.

2022 Book Club Reads

For work -
January - Whereabouts by Jhumpa Lahiri - COMPLETED
February - Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison - COMPLETED
March - Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer - COMPLETED
April - Pale Rider by Laura Spinney - COMPLETED
May - People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry - COMPLETED
Summer break
September - Caste by Isabel Wilkerson - COMPLETED
October - Harlem Shuffle by Colson Whitehead - COMPLETED
November - The Night Watchman by Louise Erdrich - COMPLETED
December - Nomadland by Jessica Bruder

The Other Book Club with my SIL and friends -
January/February - The Lager Queen of Minnesota by J. Ryan Stradal - COMPLETED
April - Taste by Stanley Tucci (skipped - couldn't make the meeting)
June - The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett - COMPLETED (back in December)
July - True Biz by Sara Novic - COMPLETED
September/October - Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner (COMPLETED) and Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia (couldn't make the meeting, still want to read both)

Random things I'm keeping track of -
Bookish articles:
1. Books Like AND THEN THERE WERE NONE (includes a Japanese book recently translated that may make an interesting Asian Book Challenge choice)
2. Japanese Books in Translation (BookRiot)
3. New and Upcoming Must-Read Memoirs by Black Authors
4. 16 Amazing Books Set in Korea (BookRiot)

How to make pretty block quotes (directions from Richard):
{blockquote}TYPE OR PASTE QUOTED TEXT HERE{/blockquote} and replace the curly braces with pointy brackets.

Number of books read since keeping count on LT:
July - Dec 2008 - 65
2009 - 156 (plus over 70 graphic novels and manga volumes)
2010 - 135 (Note: in June, I started working a second part-time job for full-time hours)
2011 - 150
2012 - 108 (Note: accepted a full-time job in February)
2013 - 107
2014 - 126 (plus 8 Graphic Novels)
2015 - 120 (plus 6 Graphic Novels)
2016 - 141
2017 - 114
2018 - 105 (Note: my first full year as Assistant Director)
2019 - 116
2020 - 153
2021 - 138

Asian Book Challenge

JANUARY - Europe of Asia - Turkish Authors
Istanbul: Memories and the City by Orhan Pamuk
Dare to Disappoint by Ozge Samanci
FEBRUARY - The Holy Land - Israeli & Palestinian Authors
Native: Dispatches from an Israeli-Palestinian Life by Sayed Kashua
MARCH - The Arab World - Writers from the Arab world
The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran (Lebanon)
Celestial Bodies by Jokha Alharthi (Oman)
APRIL - Persia - Iranian writers
Read Dangerously by Azar Nafisi
MAY - The Stans - There are 7 states all in the same region all ending in "Stan"
The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid (Pakistan)
JUNE - The Indian Sub-Continent - Essentially authors from India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh
The Startup Wife by Tahmima Anam (Bangladesh)
JULY - The Asian Superpower - Chinese Authors
Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao
Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamtress by Dai Sijie
1000 Years of Joys and Sorrows by Ai Weiwei
AUGUST - Nippon - Japanese Authors
The Great Passage by Shion Miura
The Master of Go by Yasunari Kawabata
SEPTEMBER - Kimchi - Korean Authors
The Picture Bride by Lee Geum-yi
OCTOBER - INDO CHINE - Authors from Indo-China
NOVEMBER - The Malay Archipelago - Malaysian, Singaporean, Indonesian and Filipino Authors
Fairest: a memoir by Meredith Talusan (Philippines)
The Ghost Bride by Yangsze Choo (set in Malaysia, born in the Philippines)
DECEMBER - The Asian Diaspora - Ethnic Asian writers from elsewhere
Whereabouts by Jhumpa Lahiri (she was born in the UK to parents from India and grew up in the US; this book was written in Italian and set in Italy)
Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner (she was born in Seoul and grew up in the US, daughter of a Korean mother and American father)

Other countries I've visited in my reading:
It can get a little dicey to figure out if a book fits as a "global" read or not, so here's how I'm counting it -
-The country I'll identify is that which the book was published in or the author is from, rather than the setting of the book
-The author currently lives in their country of origin, which for my purposes is not the U.S. or U.K.
-If the work had to be translated into English, regardless of where the author is currently living
-If the author is an expatriate, they had to move in adulthood (as a college student, refugee, or any other reason), and I'll count the country of origin as where the book is "from"

Portugal - Ballad for Sophie by Filipe Melo
Spain - City of Mist: Stories by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
Ireland - Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan
Trinidad and Tobago - When We Were Birds by Ayanna Lloyd Banwo
Australia - The Woman in the Library by Sulari Gentill
South Africa - Marion Lane and the Midnight Murder by T.A. Willberg (set in London)
Sweden - The Winners by Fredrik Backman
Canada - The Hands of the Emperor by Victoria Goddard (set on a fantasy world)


Create Your Own Visited Countries Map

DNF in 2022
1. Hell of a Book by Jason Mott
2. The Island of Missing Trees by Elif Shafak
3. Frontier Justice by E. Fuller Torrey
4. All About Me! by Mel Brooks
5. War Girls by Tochi Onyebuchi
6. The Enlightenment of the Greengage Tree by Shokoofeh Azar
7. Hello, Molly! : a memoir by Molly Shannon
8. Virgin River by Robin Carr
9. On Sal Mal Lane by Ru Freeman
10. The Memory Librarian by Janelle Monáe
11. Love, Chai and Other Four-Letter Words by Annika Sharma
12. Djinn City by Saad Z. Hossain

Currently reading
The Mountains Sing by Nguyen Phan Que Mai
Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Bible reading/Devotionals
Jeremiah, 1 Timothy

November
118. A Snake Falls to Earth by Darcie Little Badger
117. My Brother's Husband, vol. 2 by Gengoroh Tagame
116. My Brother's Husband, vol. 1 by Gengoroh Tagame
115. The Golden Enclaves by Naomi Novik
114. The Ghost Bride by Yangsze Choo
113. The Night Watchman by Louise Erdrich
112. Bloodmarked by Tracy Deonn

October
111. Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner
110. Paper Girls, Volume 6 by Brian K. Vaughan
109. Paper Girls, Volume 5 by Brian K. Vaughan
108. Paper Girls, Volume 4 by Brian K. Vaughan
107. Grandfather's Dance by Patricia MacLachlan
106. Lupe Wong Won't Dance by Donna Barba Higuera
105. All Boys Aren't Blue by George M. Johnson
104. Harlem Shuffle by Colson Whitehead
103. The World We Make by N.K. Jemisin
102. The Crossover (Graphic Novel) by Kwame Alexander
101. Banned Book Club by Kim Hyun Sook
100. Paper Girls, Volume 3 by Brian K. Vaughan
99. Paper Girls, Volume 2 by Brian K. Vaughan
98. Paper Girls, Volume 1 by Brian K. Vaughan
97. The Hands of the Emperor by Victoria Goddard

September
96. Ancestor Approved: Intertribal Stories for Kids edited by Cynthia Leitich Smith
95. The Master of Go by Yasunari Kawabata
94. The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making by Catherynne M. Valente
93. The Wedding Date by Jasmine Guillory
92. Caste by Isabel Wilkerson
91. Dear Martin by Nic Stone
90. American Street by Ibi Zoboi
89. The Picture Bride by Lee Geum-yi
88. Atomic Habits by James Clear

August
87. The Man Who Died Twice by Richard Osman
86. The Charm Offensive by Alison Cochrun
85. The Great Passage by Shion Miura
84. The Winners by Fredrik Backman
83. Still Life by Sarah Winman
82. More Perfect than the Moon by Patricia MacLachlan
81. Did Ye Hear Mammy Died? by Seamas O'Reilly
80. The Hero of Ages by Brandon Sanderson
79. Afterlife by Julia Alvarez
78. By the Book by Jasmine Guillory
77. Sarah Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan (yes, a second time, this one with Mia)

July
76. Zorrie by Laird Hunt
75. Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt
74. Out of My Heart by Sharon M. Draper
73. 1000 Years of Joy and Sorrows by Ai Weiwei
72. The Grief of Stones by Katherine Addison
71. When Women Were Dragons by Kelly Barnhill
70. Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress by Dai Sijie
69. Caleb's Story by Patricia MacLachlan
68. A Mirror Mended by Alix E. Harrow
67. Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao

June
66. Out of My Mind by Sharon M. Draper
65. A Spindle Splintered by Alix E. Harrow
64. The Startup Wife by Tahmima Anam
63. Skylark by Patricia MacLachlan
62. Marion Lane and the Midnight Murder by T.A. Willberg
61. Everyone Here Spoke Sign Language by Nora Ellen Groce
60. Spear by Nicola Griffith
59. The Woman All Spies Fear by Amy Butler Greenfield
58. Apple Crush by Lucy Knisley
57. Between the Lines: Stories from the Underground by Uli Beutter Cohen
56. Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan
55. The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman
54. The Kids Are Gonna Ask by Gretchen Anthony
53. The Book Eaters by Sunyi Dean
52. Bookish People by Susan Coll

May
51. House of Sky and Breath by Sarah J. Maas
50. The Woman in the Library by Sulari Gentill
49. True Biz by Sara Novic
48. Recitatif by Toni Morrison
47. The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid
46. Blended by Sharon M. Draper
45. Gender Queer: A Memoir by Maia Kobabe
44. Elatsoe by Darcie Little Badger
43. People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry
42. The Guncle by Steven Rowley
41. Go to Sleep (I Miss You) by Lucy Knisley
40. Shadowshaper Legacy by Daniel Jose Older

April
39. Pale Rider by Laura Spinney
38. The Menopause Manifesto by Dr. Jen Gunter
37. Stepping Stones by Lucy Knisley
36. 84, Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff
35. Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare
34. Celestial Bodies by Jokha Alharthi
33. The Mask of Mirrors by M. A. Carrick

March
32. Underfoot in Show Business by Helene Hanff
31. Gallant by V.E. Schwab
30. The Cooking Gene by Michael W. Twitty
29. The Raven Tower by Ann Leckie
28. Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer
27. At Home in Mitford by Jan Karon
26. The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran
25. A Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking by T. Kingfisher

February
24. Fairest by Meredith Telusan
23. Native: Dispatches from an Israeli-Palestinian Life by Sayed Kashua
22. When We Were Birds by Ayanna Lloyd Banwo
21. Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan
20. The Last Cuentista by Donna Barba Higuera
19. Wow, No Thank You by Samatha Irby
18. These Precious Days: Essays by Ann Patchett
17. Oddball: A Sarah Scribbles Collection by Sarah Andersen
16. Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison
15. The Lager Queen of Minnesota by J. Ryan Stradal
14. Ain't Burned All the Bright by Jason Reynolds with artwork by Jason Griffin
13. Dear Haiti, Love Alaine by Maika Moulite and Maritza Moulite
12. Letter to My White Friends and Colleagues by Steven Rogers

January
11. Paperboy by Vince Vawter
10. The Keeper of Night by Kylie Lee Baker
9. Dare to Disappoint: Growing Up in Turkey by Ozge Samanci
8. Read Dangerously: The Subversive Power of Literature in Troubled Times by Azar Nafisi
7. City of Mists: Stories by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
6. Istanbul: Memories and the City by Orhan Pamuk
5. Whereabouts by Jhumpa Lahiri
4. The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles
3. The River of Consciousness by Oliver Sacks
2. The God of Lost Words by A.J. Hackwith
1. Ballad for Sophie by Filipe Melo

Favorite Books of 2021 -
I couldn't narrow down my top ten titles of 2021, so here's a top ten fiction and a few more categories as well:

Fiction
The Night Tiger by Yangsze Choo
Red at the Bone by Jacqueline Woodson
Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse
A Master of Djinn by P. Djeli Clark
Washington Black by Esi Edugyan
Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir
The Dictionary of Lost Words by Pip Williams
Beloved by Toni Morrison
Mistborn: The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson
A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine

Nonfiction
This Time Together by Carol Burnett
The Book of Delights by Ross Gay
Hidden Valley Road by Robert Kolker
The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin
The Anthropocene Reviewed by John Green
Nine Nasty Words by John McWhorter
Somebody’s Daughter by Ashley C. Ford

Graphic Novel
Umma’s Table by Yeon-Sik Hong

Poetry
The Trouble with Poetry and Other Poems by Billy Collins

YA
Instructions for Dancing by Nicola Yoon
Firekeeper’s Daughter by Angeline Boulley
Labyrinth Lost by Zoraida Cordova

Middle Grade
Fighting Words by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley

Welcome, welcome, grab a cuppa and pull up a chair!

Perhaps it's because it's football season and getting into the season for several family holidays, so here's a question for the day and an explanatory story to go along with it:

What's one tradition in your family that's always been your *thing* and doesn't always make sense to people who haven't grown up with it?

If you haven't already guessed, my short answer is we're HUGE NY Giants fans (in fact, last year my parents, one brother and I pitched in for season tickets so now I go to 3 home games or more a season). Going to games is always a great family get together, whether it's watching together on TV or going to the game. In fact, my childhood was pretty unusual for how many pro sports games and events I went to.

The story I thought of... well, one day at college some 20 years ago, I was sitting minding my business when I overheard a conversation happening between three students. The two young men were sports fans, and the young woman was not. She was trying to understand, on an intellectual level, why someone would be a fan of a team. Of sports in general, maybe. She clearly had not grown up with it, and the young men had. They were trying to explain fandom in general, the idea of going for a team and why you would choose the team locally to "go for" (I remember her asking, "So... it's like my part of the country is better than yours?") I remember thinking... it's just one of those things. It's part of my memories, part of what I grew up with and something that was important to our family on Sunday afternoons, a bonding experience with my dad especially, and part of how we had fun together. Thus, my question of a family tradition that's special to you, but maybe not everyone quite "gets" for whatever reason.

And if you want another one that's less socially a part of U.S. culture, my mom's family for many years wouldn't get together for Christmas but a Father's Day cookout was an annual event all my growing up and well into adulthood.

Happy new thread, Mary.

Can't think of any traditions like that in my family.

Hi Mary! New thread orisons, bad-car headshakings.

>12 bell7: My mother and I were, it's safe to say, not ordinary people. One way that's a GOOD thing is our mutual love of the Yule tackiness festival! Our tree, and it was just the two of us from 1968 on, had 1,000 white lights, was never less than 7ft tall, and had more ornaments on it than you can even conceive of...and new ones added every year. Our stocking gifts to each other, after I left home, were always new ornaments.

After Mama died on Christmas Eve, I really thought she'd done me the greatest service of her life: Died at the time I had happy memories of her, and so many of them, that it was possible to draw on those as I processed my extremely complicated feelings about her death.

I still have all those ornaments, and the angel tree-topper, that we shared all those years. Sadly I have no place to use them! It's my hope that, when Rob gets home, he'll be able to afford his own place before too long and I can share them with him.

Happy new one!

Happy new thread! I hope the car situation gets sorted without too much trouble.

Sorry to hear about the car drama. Crossing my fingers it's a quick and inexpensive fix.

As for your tradition question, there's a chant we do in German after we say grace at every meal. It translates to "blessed be (breakfast/lunch/supper), good appetite!" My maternal grandfather was German so we always did it at my grandparents and my mom did it in our house always too (whether there were guests or not, which resulted in several confused looks until the chant was explained). Both my brother and I have continued the tradition now that we live in our own homes.

>13 FAMeulstee: Nice to see you, Anita!

>14 richardderus: Oh I like that, Richard. That's a special memory to hold onto, though I know it's very complicated, to say the least. My mom buys an ornament every time the family goes on a trip - and has ever since my parents' honeymoon - and I carried on that tradition, plus she would give her kids ornaments as gifts many years, too. By the time I moved out and had my own place, I easily had enough ornaments for the tree. It's getting so overfull, in fact, that I've pondered getting a second one just for DC ornaments.

>15 figsfromthistle: Thanks, Anita!

>16 drneutron: Thanks, Jim! You and me both!

>17 MickyFine: Mostly the unknown of what my day will be like tomorrow is irritating me the most at the moment... I really hate the stuck feeling of being carless in a place that does not have public transportation. I love your "after grace" chant. I have a little German in my heritage, too, and I wonder if that was ever something the family did in previous generations. You remind me that at my great aunt's when the family got together instead of praying we'd sing the Doxology as our grace. I'd have to ask my dad how that started.

Happy new thread, Mary.

>19 PaulCranswick: thank you, Paul! Always good to see you here.

Wordle 499 4/6

🟩⬜⬜⬜⬜
⬜⬜⬜🟨⬜
🟩⬜⬜⬜🟨
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

Back on form today. ADIEU, MONTH, AVAST, APTLY.

What's the car prognosis, Mary? I know you're off, so there's something afoot....

Aaaannnnd:
I'd greatly appreciate a favor from you, Madame la Librerienne. Will you, at your leisure but in the next 5-7 minutes (heh), follow this link: https://expendablemudge.blogspot.com/2022/10/
That's all my blog posts for October. I don't expect you to deep-dive into them but I am seeking your input about the balance of single-author group reviews, single-title reviews, and multi-author reviews on my blog.

I'm curious to know how the month's presentation strikes you...do you like the mix of single-vs-multi-title posts, single-vs-multi-author posts, anything rankle or gruntle you? I'm aware you're a busy human and it's a lot to ask...I hope you'll take a fast whip through the month and let me know what strikes you as effective.

>22 richardderus: No car prognosis yet. I'm hoping that means they can just fix it and tell me when it's finished, but if I don't hear something by around 2 p.m. I'll call myself. I know there's a power steering fluid leak and whatever caused it to stall was something separate - could be anything from a battery to an alternator, but I *think* if it was on the major side they would've called to tell me? Also depends on how busy they are, thus my waiting til the afternoon to call. (Helps that I don't have anywhere I have to be... the stress is lower as a result)

>23 richardderus: Alright, my friend, let's see what I can do. I like the balance of single-title and multi-title reviews. My immediate impression from looking over the month is that you read widely and think deeply about it (no surprise there!). I personally can get overwhelmed with too much text at once, so tend to prefer the look of Burgoine reviews together and same-author-multiple-books posts, as it's easier for me to track. I might prefer to have the Pearl-ruled a separate posts, as my scrolling/scanning brain wants to dismiss the Burgoined-books as not as good and/or forget that the Pearl-ruled were abandoned. I also enjoyed your not-review post thinking about Regrets and talking about Miller. Breaks things up nicely but still fits the theme.

Hope that helps! Probably says more about how I read online than about your reviewing prowess, however :)

Happy new thread! Hope you get good news on the car soon.

My family has plenty of quirks, but I can't think of too many traditions that would seem strange to outsiders. For instance, we read A Christmas Carol together every year in the weeks leading up to Christmas, often by phone in recent years since we're not all in the same area. But that's not particularly weird, or at least, I don't think it is.

Ugh. Sorry about the car, Mary.

Happy new thread!

>24 bell7: I've got things crossed that haven't seen each other in *years* for your car to be ready when you call, they just couldn't get to the phone because there were so many people demanding their chance to praise them for their excellent, inexpensive work.

That's exactly what I'm looking for! I want to know how you read, not how I review (I'm not too bad at it, immodest though it is for me to say it). I've been considering splitting the Burgoines and the Pearl-Rules into separate posts, both appearing the last Sunday of the month. I've got the December ones formatted already but I'll probably start that split in January 2023. See? You knew exactly what I needed to know without my saying anything leading!

*smooch*

Happy new thread, Mary! Here's hoping your car is a quick fix.

Happy new thread! Hope the car fix isn't too complicated or expensive.

My favorite family tradition is one that is pretty common in Central/South America (and maybe Spain? it comes to me via my Bolivian grandmother) but I don't know anyone else in the US who does it. On New Year's Eve, at the stroke of midnight, we all grab a cup full of 13 grapes and embark on a run to the end of the block with a bag or suitcase of some kind. I think technically you're supposed to eat the grapes in the time it takes for the clock to toll twelve, but we usually just say you have to finish your grapes before you get back to the house. The grapes are for good luck, and the run to the end of the block is for if you want to travel in the new year. If you want to go overseas, you have to cross the street! It's wacky and hilarious and we're all usually laughing hysterically by the end of it. Whenever Tim and I host our own New Year's parties we make all of our friends participate too 😂

>25 foggidawn: Thanks, foggi! That's neat that your family shares the story together. I would guess that continuing a reread over the phone is, perhaps, a little further than most families would go ;) but I also think a lot of what we grow up with is perfectly normal to us and only appears "weird" after we get an outsider's perspective. I remember one of my friends being *stunned* that we had a "No singing at the table" rule growing up.

>26 katiekrug: Thanks and thanks, Katie!

>27 richardderus: Thanks, Richard. They are very busy, they're short on mechanics at the moment and always busy even when they're fully staffed. But they do good work and I trust them not to make me pay for something that isn't needed, so needs must. And good, I'm glad my comments were helpful to you. It was interesting to see how different all the responses were to what you asked.

>28 scaifea: Thanks, Amber!

>29 curioussquared: Thanks, Natalie! Oh I've never heard of that, but how wonderful. My mom's family used to get together every New Year's Day and my cousins called in "Huggy Kissy Day" because after my grandfather gave the blessing, we'd have to go around to each person present and give them a hug and kiss while wishing them, "Happy New Year!" Possibly French Canadian, possibly something my grandparents made up.

Car update:

Well, there are a few things wrong, but nothing on the super expensive end on its own, so I guess a mixed bag.

There was a problem with a transmission tube, I think, leaking. (This is what it was originally going in for)
The stall was caused by too much air getting into something in the engine and setting the sensors off and everything going haywire. (What happened yesterday)
And apparently my rear brake pads and rotors also need to be replaced. (New problem!)

*Sigh* He was willing to have me come back for the brake pads, but all in all it's better if they just get it all done while I can stay where I'm dogsitting and don't have to try to get anywhere over the next few days (how often can I say that, really?). Thankfully I have plenty of personal time to take a couple of days off from work, books to keep me busy, and food to eat in the meantime. The car should be ready Wednesday-ish.

I also spent the morning researching candidates and filling out my mail-in ballot. Tomorrow I'll try to read through some of the newspapers and periodicals I've accumulated over the last few weeks.

>31 bell7: Having just spent a small fortune on brake repairs, I can empathize. They were willing to put off some of the stuff until next time, but like you, I did it all at once.

>31 bell7: It sounds like the situation could've been a whole lot worse. I'm really glad you're just going ahead with the brake pad situation, since you can be stationary for a while.

*whew* to finding the brake problem before it presented itself as A Problem.

>18 bell7: Sure, I can be, Jim. It's fine. :P

Glad to hear the repairs aren't too bad and hope the work is done on schedule.

>32 thornton37814: Oof, yeah, full on break repairs are definitely not fun. Glad you were able to get what you needed to fixed, Lori.

>33 richardderus: It could've definitely been a lot worse, and while there's no convenient time for car problems, this week is about as close as it gets.

>34 MickyFine: Oops! Sorry! Fixed it. And thanks, Wednesday looks likely, possibly tomorrow, but I've taken tomorrow as a personal day and let the dog walker know, so at least I know what to expect Tuesday.

111. Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner
Why now? Belatedly, for a book club meeting that I missed

Michelle Zauner is the daughter of a Korean mother and American father, whose mother died of cancer when Michelle was in her 20s. In this memoir, she explores her grief, her time taking care of her mother on her death bed, and the aftermath.

I especially enjoyed the first half of the book, in which Michelle lays the groundwork of her early life, the tumultuous relationship with her mother as a teenager, and the final days she spends with her mother. Food was one of the ways they connected, and the memoir is chock full of descriptions of dishes, both Korean and not, that Michelle or her parents try. It makes it all the more heartbreaking to see her mother not enjoy the taste of things during her chemo treatments. The death happens about halfway through the book, and from that point I had a much harder time reading, not because it wasn't good, but because I was too reminded of keeping vigil before my grandmother passed away, and didn't want to face such raw grief as Michelle and her father experience. In a way, Michelle is exploring both her mother and herself, and who she is after the loss, including beautiful turns of phrases, heartbreaking moments, and everything in between. 3.5 stars.

October in review
111. Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner
110. Paper Girls, Volume 6 by Brian K. Vaughan
109. Paper Girls, Volume 5 by Brian K. Vaughan
108. Paper Girls, Volume 4 by Brian K. Vaughan
107. Grandfather's Dance by Patricia MacLachlan
106. Lupe Wong Won't Dance by Donna Barba Higuera
105. All Boys Aren't Blue by George M. Johnson
104. Harlem Shuffle by Colson Whitehead
103. The World We Make by N.K. Jemisin
102. The Crossover (Graphic Novel) by Kwame Alexander
101. Banned Book Club by Kim Hyun Sook
100. Paper Girls, Volume 3 by Brian K. Vaughan
99. Paper Girls, Volume 2 by Brian K. Vaughan
98. Paper Girls, Volume 1 by Brian K. Vaughan
97. The Hands of the Emperor by Victoria Goddard

Did Not Finish
None this month (12 for the year)

Books read: 15
Rereads: 0
Children's/Teen/Adult: 2/9/4
Fiction/Nonfiction/Plays/Poetry: 13/2/0/0
ABC Challenge: I still have to read the actual October books, but Crying in H Mart would count for December

Because I want to awards:
Immersive fantasy - The Hands of the Emperor by Victoria Goddard

YTD stats -
Pages read: 30,808
Avg pages a day: 102
Books by POC authors: 44 (40%)
DNF: 12

Thoughts:
I read eight graphic novels this month, but as the first book of the month was 899 pages, I don't feel terribly bad about it adding to my numbers. I've improved my percentage of books by non-white authors and stayed steady with my other goals. And I read some very enjoyable books, all around. I'm especially looking forward to reading more by Victoria Goddard.

Wordle 500 3/6

⬜⬜🟨🟩⬜
⬜⬜🟨🟨⬜
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

Well, when your first two guesses give you four letters... (Though even as I guessed it, I wasn't convinced) ADIEU, CRYPT, PINEY.

112. Bloodmarked by Tracy Deonn
Why now? Because Legendborn was amazing! I asked for and received a DRC on my Kindle and wanted to finish it a little before the book officially came out.

*Free e-book ARC received from the publisher through Edelweiss Plus - thank you!*
Also - necessarily spoilers for Legendborn.

Though Bree is now the awakened Scion of Arthur, she's not yet gone through the rite and the Order wants to keep her secret, using Nick's disappearance to mask both of their true bloodlines. She's desperate to go after Nick, but can't control her power. Root comes defensively, and she can't form armor out of aether the way William, the Scion of Gawain can. And Sel - well, he's not sure how long he can go without protecting Nick and fulfilling his oath. Then the Regents use the rite to their own ends, and Bree needs to use all her ingenuity to protect herself and her friends from their aims.

Where do I start? The world-building is fantastic, using both American history and Arthurian legend, exploring both through Bree's unique heritage and ability to wield both Root and Order magic and communicate with her ancestors. What was established in Legendborn is broadened as she and her friends learn more about the world they've been thrust into. The characters are realistically drawn and made me care deeply about what happened to them in a fast-paced sequel that lived up to the first book. At the end I was simultaneously annoyed not to know the end of the story but also looking forward to seeing where it leads next. 4.5 stars.

Wow, I can't believe I missed an entire thread! I haven't had a laptop for awhile, and using LT on my smartphone is really more annoying than it's worth, so I've tended to only record what I read on my own thread and maybe visit one or two threads before I gave up in disgust. Anyway, I'm back using an old, slooooooowwwww laptop, at least for awhile, so at least I can get to others' threads again.

Glad your car problems weren't dire. The aggravation of not having it, though, can be worst of all.

I enjoyed all the traditions that have been shared. I lived next door to a Cuban/Japanese couple awhile ago. On New Year's Eve, they always made noodles for dinner, and at midnight, they tossed out a large bowlful of water. I guess it made sense - noodles to signify plenty and tossing water a metaphor for tossing out the old or bad stuff. My only New Year's tradition was to clean out a closet or drawer or something - anything. It was, I think, wishful thinking, that, in the coming year, I'd get organized. Decades later, I'm still not organized.

>40 Storeetllr: yeah, navigating the threads has become slightly easier on my phone with some of the site updates, but it's still so much easier from my laptop! I like both the neighbor couple and your tradition. I'm never fully organized, but I also try to tackle small projects to at least get closer to that goal.

Wordle 501 3/6

⬜⬜🟨🟨⬜
⬜⬜⬜🟩🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

Lucky second guess again. ADIEU, CRYPT, INEPT.

Well, I should be getting my car back today - late this afternoon. So one more personal day and I have to figure out a ride to pick it up, which should be interesting. My mother has jury duty today so they'd be my go-to but if she's in court all day, that won't happen.

I spent the morning tidying up around here, and sped up when I realized the car idling in the driveway is most likely the cleaning lady that comes every other week. I can... sprawl out with my stuff a little, and it can end up getting piled up with piles of the owners' stuff. Once she comes in, I'll hide out in the spare room I'm staying in, as I believe that will be sufficiently out of the way.

I am sick and tired of not being able to leave. The dogs are a lot of energy, and I'm looking forward to going back to work tomorrow.

I HATE being forced to stay in one place because of lack of transportation - even for a day. Even if I don't want to go anywhere, I don't like feeling that I can't. When we went down to one car, it was an adjustment...

Anyway, glad you'll be getting your wheels back soon!

>42 bell7: Took me three, too. I was most chuffed.

Hoping you're sprung from purdah on time! *smooch*

>44 katiekrug: Yep, not a fan. It would be slightly different if we had anything close to regular and reliable public transportation where I live, but the buses here are few and far between. Anyway, all things considered, I'm glad to get the work done and not have bigger problems. My mom will pick me up around 3 and I'll have my car back FINALLY. Takeout tonight, I think.

>45 richardderus: Fingers crossed, Richard dear. I haven't heard otherwise from the car place and I'm showing up at this point, so hopefully all will be ready if not when I get there at least by end of day.

Wordle 502 4/6

🟩🟨⬜⬜🟨
⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜
🟩⬜⬜🟩🟨
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

Probably should've skipped the second word altogether and I blanked a bit on #3. Oh well, four is still solid. ALOUD, CRYPT, ANNUL, ALOUD.

In other news, I got my car back and the next two days are going to be very busy. Saturday will be mildly so, as I'm switching dogsitting jobs that day and will have to do a little back and forth to get them all fed and walked.

>47 bell7: 3day for me, Mary, but it's a really good one to be reminded of today. Car behaving herself?

*smooch*

Glad to read you've been reunited with your car, Mary. Hope your busy days are / have gone well.

>49 richardderus: Car was good today. I needed transmission tubes - no leak, no stalling. Yay!

>50 charl08: Thanks, Charlotte! Today was good, all the dogs are walked and I'm settling in for a little bit before bedtime.

Wordle 503 3/6

⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜
⬜🟨⬜🟩🟨
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

Interesting. The pattern of guess number 2, surprisingly didn't leave me with many options after no letters from my first guess. ADIEU, MONTH, PHOTO.

Happy Friday! Yesterday I was back to work, joyously free of the lovely dogs who are energetic attention hogs when I'm at the house. I went from there to the visit the dogs I'll be sitting starting Saturday (going straight from one job to another, with a little overlap). That visit wrapped up quicker than I thought it would, and I surprised the dog walker who'd come to feed the labs while I was gone. Walked the dogs, started watching the latest season of GBBO/S, and went to bed.

I'm finishing up my coffee and then I'm off to give the dogs their morning walk, working 9-5, and going to a potluck/staff meeting of the regular volunteering that I do on Friday nights. Instead of going straight from work, I'm stopping at home and making cornbread. I'm taking the opportunity to bring some things home and trade out some clothes, so I've got to pack up the car a little this morning.

Tomorrow will be a relative break, though I'm responsible for all the feeding and 3 dog walks. The new job is two pugs, so much less energy and walking will be involved overall. I will go over in the afternoon to let them out and give them dinner, come back to give the labs dinner and walks, and then go back to the pugs for a week.

>53 bell7: The income from the pet-sitting is really helpful, I'm sure, but the biggest reward's the doggos, isn't it. You enjoy them for a while and then leave them to their people!

...too bad kids don't come with co-op deals like that....

Ooh going from labs to pugs will be quite the transition. I hope all the doggos are good for you this weekend. :)

>54 richardderus: I do enjoy borrowing people's pets for short periods of time, though I'm very happy when I get to go home to no extra responsibilities! I borrow people's kids, too, for a couple hours at a time at church, generally, but it's all the fun with no responsibility there.

>55 MickyFine: It will, but I'm definitely looking forward to the change. I haven't had these two for a couple of years, so I'm not sure if they'll sleep with me, but if they do they're terrible bed hogs and I won't get the greatest sleep. But I'll also have much quieter evenings, since they don't demand my attention in quite the same way.

Wordle 504 4/6

🟨🟨⬜🟨⬜
⬜🟨🟨🟨⬜
⬜⬜🟩🟩🟨
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

A little surprised I got it in four considering all the options with the letters I started with. ADIEU, FADES, PLEAD, DREAM.

Wordle 505 2/6

🟨⬜⬜🟩🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

Someone mentioned on their thread that ADIEU wasn't an acceptable word, so just for fun I decided to mix up my starter word and lucked out tremendously. AMPLE, STALE.

>58 bell7: Wowee toledo! Talk about a good result! I know I'll never get a onesie but I've had the fun of a twofer. Have to say that getting the three most-commonly-used vowels in one word makes up for that.

>59 richardderus: right? I got a onesie with ATONE so I changed my starter word, but if I can't get it with ADIEU either, I may change it again. I lucked out today, but I must think about a potential second word to help me out - I like being able to eliminate vowel options and common consonants with the first two.

I used a random number generator to pick a book from my TBR list to read - and it landed on the picture book Rhyming Dust Bunnies which I'd had on my list from back when I was working in a children's room at another library. It was cute and very funny, though at this point a little young for my niece and nephew who are 7 and 5. Fun read for preschoolers just learning to rhyme, with simple and bright illustrations.

I think I'm going to try to incorporate the random number generator into my reading more formally next year. It's not that I'm *not* reading books that I want to, but very often I'll let new and shiny dominate and they don't even make it onto the list before I start reading. As a result, in 100+ books read a year, I'm doing well if a couple dozen are actually *from* the TBR list.

>61 bell7: A random number generator! I'd do that, too, if I had ONE list instead of six. (Edelweiss, NetGalley, Gifted, Bought-for-me, "Oh no not again" for the squillions and bajillions of books you thoughtless, heedless "look look it's a gorgeous new edition of Cow Goes Moo that you can get for 99¢ if you hurry!" reviewers, and TBR)

I need to be extra-aware of the Edelweiss and NetGalley ones because they get stroppy if my taken-to-reviewed percentage stays low.

>60 bell7: That's been my strategy since the start, too. I think my two openers are the ten most-commonly-used letters in the language, if memory serves. The days when neither of them returns a result are kinda exciting, though rare.

>62 richardderus: My TBR spreadsheet is not complete, either, because it doesn't count the Edelweiss and NetGalley ARCs and many of the books I already own and haven't read ("Why should I add them to the list when clearly I own them and want to read them?" I said to myself). But yeah, I'm thinking I might use the random number generator to pick books off the list more deliberately next year. I haven't figured out quite what the goal would be, because I'm such a mood reader I wouldn't want to make a task to onerous for myself. And I'll probably take a break from trying to fit books into TIOLI challenges to help me concentrate more on that, too.

Still haven't settled on a Wordle option. I might go with TALES and CRONY tomorrow and see what happens. Truthfully, I know it doesn't matter if I get it in one more than once, and I'm better off finding a way to hit the most common letters in two guesses even if my starter word has already been taken. I may just go back to using ATONE like I used to and then maybe JUICY to knock out the rest of the vowels. So many options! This is why I don't usually change my starter word(s).

Busy weekend that's now winding down. Yesterday was moving from one dogsitting job to the other. I had a fair amount of dog walks and packed in between. I ran through my morning routine with the woman who will be watching them through Monday, since I had the earlier commitment. I stopped in on the pugs in the afternoon and dropped off most of my packing, then went back to feed the labs and walk them, pack up all my food, and leave for good. Fed the pugs and myself, and started knitting my niece a pair of socks while watching the Bruins. The pugs are much less energy, but they also sleep with me and I get woken up a few times in the night (they snore and they're bed hogs, and one of them wanted to sleep on my legs?). The extra hour of sleep was helpful.

I had nursery at 9 a.m. service, then church, then work. The dogs are fed, I am fed, and I spent some time watching GBBO/S and knitting.

GBBO/S thoughts so far:
Is it just me or do the contestants... lack personality this year? I mean, they're fine. I like Janusz and Sandro, but I feel like the others could be interesting and just come across as bland when we're not given much back story - Syabira and Carole come to mind as ones I'd like to hear more about.

I thought it was a little tricky to add chocolate and feathering in the Biscuit Week technical challenge when it's not really how the cookie is classically made, so it meant that anyone who was familiar with it wouldn't necessarily know what Prue was asking for. I was a little surprised to see pizza as a challenge (I'm firmly in the pineapple does not belong on one camp), though admittedly the dough recipe I use at home is very basic and not as bubbly as a "real" pizza dough. I was kinda glad no one went home that week. But I know the real controversy is to come, as my next episode is Mexican week.

Wordle 506 5/6

⬜⬜⬜⬜🟨
⬜⬜🟨⬜⬜
⬜🟩⬜🟩⬜
⬜⬜🟨🟨🟨
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

I blanked after three and used four to knock out some consonants, fortunately helping me enough to get the answer. AROSE, JUICY, TEPID, FLING, BEGIN.

Good Monday morning! I've got a fairly quiet day today. I decided to go into work today (I would normally have the day off for working yesterday), 9-2, so that next week can be unpaid instead of five hours vacation time. My body is still on daylight savings time, as I woke up without an alarm at 6:30. The dogs are fed, I'll walk them in a bit, and then I'll get ready for work. This afternoon, I'll prep a little for Bible study as I'm facilitating while the regular leader is away on vacation.

The rest of the week will be a normal work week, but the dogs I'm watching don't need as long of walks and don't demand as much attention, so I expect a fair amount of reading and knitting will happen and it will feel pretty relaxed after the last few weeks. I get Friday off for Veterans' Day, and I'm planning on meeting a friend at my house for a visit.

Morning, Mary! Interesting comments on GBBO/S. You may have seen a few of us complaining about how boring the season is :)

>68 katiekrug: I did - I didn't read the spoiler tags, but I think I remember you saying something similar and so far I have to say you're right about that! It's still decent background, mindless watching, but I'm not hugely invested in the results at the moment.

Morning, Mary. We are back and I am very slowly making the rounds. Lots of dog chatter over here. We are glad to have Juno back. She was a very good girl for Bree and still seemed to have missed us, although she slept most of the day yesterday. Have a good week.

Hiya Mary! You're about to hit an interesting week on GBBO, but there's a lack of lustre on the contestants up through the quarter finals. They're not giving us the back-stories the way they once did and I do not approve!

Which one was Carole? Is she blah-haired oldster or bright-haired oldster?

I Wordled in 3! Very pleased I must say.

*smooch*

Wordle 507 5/6

⬜⬜⬜⬜🟨
🟨⬜⬜⬜⬜
🟩⬜🟩⬜🟨
🟩🟩🟩⬜⬜
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

Still messing around with my technique: ABIDE, POUTY, SHEEP, SPECK, SPELL.

>70 msf59: Morning, Mark! Happy Tuesday! I'm sure Juno's happy to have you back, too. I'll be going home on Saturday and happy, in my turn, to be responsible for only me and no pets anymore.

>71 richardderus: Carole's the bright-haired oldster. They've mentioned a couple of times that she's called "Compost Carole" but somehow make it seem cutesy and isn't-it-nice that she gardens? But a quick Google search (I was careful, I don't want spoilers) reveals that she actually has that name for her regular radio program? Like, she really knows her gardens and she's baking too? Does she use a lot of her own stuff in her baking? How does she find the time to do it all? But not a peep. Also I like her hair, I aspire to that when I'm older (though it's not as curly). It's nice to know it's not my imagination that there was in fact less back story this time around. I liked that a lot more than the goofy way they're giving the time calls now, which I'd find extremely irritating if I were one of the bakers.

Happy Election Day Tuesday! I voted by mail and turned my ballot in last week, and boy, am I happy that's the case - trying to get to my town from where I'm staying and then getting into work would've been a hassle of a morning.

As it is, I made yesterday busier than expected because I went and did all the errands after work - run to the bank, run to the library (another library had a book I wanted and it was on the way...), grocery shopping. I bought myself a couple of circular knitting needles in the sizes I needed for one of my next projects, a hat with sock yarn. And then I prepped for facilitating Bible study, got myself and dogs fed, walked them and headed out the door again. Bible study was actually quite pleasant, there were only three of us, so I stripped it down to no videos, just the reading and asking questions, and letting the conversation take us where it may.

I found a tick on myself yesterday and the site of the bite is red and sore to the touch today, so I'm keeping an eye on it and may be calling my doctor by the end of the week if it doesn't improve.

Today will be interesting, as it's a full moon and Election Day, and I'm working 12-8. We may or may not getting people asking us how we voted (sometimes people genuinely are curious, and others want a launching point to tell me all about how they voted), which as a town employee I deflect on the regular. I get it most when trustees are being elected though, so maybe I'll be off the hook tonight? One can only hope. I'm also proctoring in the evening. This morning should be fairly low key. I want to do some laundry and will walk the dogs briefly at some point. They're currently snoring away on the couch and doggie bed.

>74 bell7: I'm sure you're more gracious than I'd be at deflecting such nosiness..."there's a reason they put curtains on those booths"...but for your mood's sake I hope they just don't ask you too often.

Tick bite! Boo hiss!! Hope it magically vanishes at your immune system's behest.

>73 bell7: Not your imagination...and I don't really "get" why it's that way this year. I'll be glued to the elections tonight not watching GBBO but will catch up on Friday.

It's been a while since I had watched a season of GBBO so I didn't quite realize, but you're totally right -- a lot less backstory than usual. I wonder what prompted the change?

>75 richardderus: thankfully no one did! It was actually a pretty quiet day, so I caught up on all the emails about new books, which was great for my inbox but not so much for my TBR. Thanks re: the tick bite, I'm watching carefully and plan on calling my doctor this morning. Thoughts on GBBO below.

>76 curioussquared: I don't know, but for me I feel much more invested in the competition when I feel like I get to know the contestants a little bit and pick favorites to get behind.

Wordle 508 2/6

🟨🟨🟩⬜⬜
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

ARISE, RAINY. Can't complain about that result. Makes 9 altogether I got it in two, my least common result after 1 (which happened once and I don't expect it again).

GBBO/S update - I watched Mexican week yesterday morning before work.

I had seen comments and some videos online prior to seeing the episode, so I braced myself. Personally, I found the jokes lame but as a non-Mexican can't/won't comment on whether or not they crossed the line into offensive. Tacos - or "tack-os" - are NOT baking, however, and ARE meant to be overflowing, so that was a supremely stupid technical. I wasn't surprised to see two bakers go after no one had the week before, but I thought it probably should've been Rebs and Carole this week. The Scottish guy (I kept getting two names confused, was it James?) seemed like he could have had an interesting back story too, and I was a little sorry to see him go, but would've been sorrier if I knew anything about him.

>79 bell7: I never learned anyone's name early on...just didn't care...so it was "gay Scot" and "straight Scot" to me all the way through.

TACKohs aren't baking the same way waffles and pancakes aren't. Anyway, the lameness of the Mexican jokes was pretty damning and I can tell you I'd've found them offensive if I still lived in Texas. These choices are tin-eared at best and sloppy at worst.

>78 bell7: I was, as expected, a step behind you. It was a good word today, I thought, and made for a good solution.

>80 richardderus: I kind of have them a pass on the pizza because they made actual dough and not my quick and cheap version that doesn't bubble, even though some of the toppings were questionable, but the tacos were...yeah, no. Just no. On to the next one.

GBBO thoughts on Dessert Week and Halloween week:

Dessert Week was surprisingly excellent after the disaster that was Mexican Week. The bakers were a little all over the place, and it made it genuinely interesting to see who would win Star Baker and who would go. Syabira has been so solid that it was surprising to see her struggle so much. Carole deservedly went, I thought, though Kevin (straight Scot, Richard - he's the one I kept trying to call James, apparently I decided there was one Scot and got really confused) is lucky she did as poorly as she did. And I've finally got all their names straight. Side note: I think having their backstories helps me remember their names, and finally today I have them down. But now there's only 6-7 of them, so it's not like it should be hard at this point. And yet.

Oh, and I do like the showstoppers where they have something hidden in the middle. Mostly they did an excellent job with it, and it was really fun to see what everyone came up with.

Halloween Week - okay, I had a blast with this one overall. Syabira was back on form, and there were some genuinely funny moments: Janusz dressed as Noel, Kevin's greatest fear, and Prue's absolute delight in whacking the showstoppers were among my favorites. There were ups and downs but now we're getting to the point where everyone is generally pretty solid and it comes down to a detail of construction, or timing, or just an off day. By the large, the hanging show stoppers were pretty stunning, and even Dawn's managed to hang after all. Dawn and Kevin were at the bottom, and though I was satisfied they made the right choice, Kevin's going to have to up his game if he doesn't want to be next gone. Actually, I'm surprised both of the oldsters lasted as long as they did - usually by now, they're off with comments about their "stodgy" bakes or sticking to classic flavors a little too much or some such, so it was fun to see them last a little longer with the young'uns.

And now, to read a bit before I head to bed.

Wordle 509 4/6

⬜⬜🟩⬜🟩
⬜⬜🟩⬜🟩
⬜⬜🟩🟨🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

Well that was fun: ARISE, CHIME, OPINE, UNITE.

>83 bell7: I did it in 3. Nyah!

>82 bell7: Agree with your GBBO thoughts. It's such a sad thing not to have the backstories as grounding...I think you're correct, that's the biggest part of my disconnection from most of the bakers.

Have a scrummy Friday.

>82 bell7: Agree with your GBBO thoughts! I had a lot of fun with Halloween week too. I love how silly Janusz is and appreciated his Noel costume.

>84 richardderus: If I'd gone with POUTY as my second I may have too, but I thought I did okay for waking up late, getting myself to work 15 minutes late and still remembering to take a short break to figure it out haha.

>85 curioussquared: I'm looking forward to getting caught up tonight! I do like Janusz.

One further comment on GBBO/S that I forgot to mention: The s'mores bit was head-scratching.

>86 bell7: Ooh, the s'mores infuriated me. Digestive biscuits? Weirdly giant marshmallows? Has Paul ever had a s'more?

I'm one or two episodes behind, too.

>87 curioussquared: right? Just a bizarre choice. It made me wonder if you can't get graham crackers in the U.K.? And what was with "not too much chocolate"? The proportions, as Paul and Prue would say, are all wrong.

>78 bell7: Wow! Nice!!

Hope the tick bite is nothing serious.

Happy Friday!

>89 figsfromthistle: Thanks, Anita! Apparently the rash at the bite is a perfectly normal reaction to the bite, and after talking to my doctor about it, I'm feeling a lot better. I'll keep an eye out for a bulls-eye rash (anywhere on my body, not just at the site of the bite) and flu-like symptoms, at which point I'd call her to get antibiotics, and I'll get a blood test done in a couple of weeks just to make sure I don't have Lyme disease.

GBBO:

Custard week was kinda par for the course, nothing too unexpected, other than having Janusz towards the bottom. But it wasn't really surprising that it was Kevin's time to go.

The quarterfinals/pastry week was fine. Nothing spectacular about most of the bakes, mostly because some of the bakers basically went for too much and ran out of time. I was sorry to see Maxy go, happy that Sandro didn't. I'm starting to wonder if Abdul will be a surprise finalist/winner: he hasn't won Star Baker, but never in the bottom either, just solid all around with every type of baking they've had to do. And Syabira continues to shine.

Now I'm all caught up and can watch tomorrow's episode sometime during the day, since it's a holiday.

Wordle 510 4/6

🟨⬜⬜⬜🟨
⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜
⬜🟨🟨🟩🟨
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

ARISE, POUTY, GLEAM, MEDAL.

Wordle 511 4/6

🟨⬜⬜⬜🟨
⬜⬜⬜🟨⬜
🟨🟩⬜🟩⬜
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

ARISE, POUTY, TAMED, VALET.

Happy Saturday, Mary. Have a good weekend and get some reading in.

>93 bell7: My third word was PLEAT which pleased me with its symmetry of application to the answer.

>91 bell7: It's going to be a very interesting final next week. Very.

Saturday orisons, Mary!

Wordle 512 2/6

🟨⬜🟨⬜🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

ARISE, INANE. That was fun.

Off to a Giants game with the family, so don't mind me if I don't respond for a day or two!

Wishing you safe travels and a good game!

Have a great time watching the Giants! *smooch*

Go Giants! I'll look for you on TV ;-)

>96 bell7: Same Wordle fun for me! We have very similar first words. Yesterday I squeaked by with a six!

Karen O

>94 msf59: happy weekend, Mark! It's been busy but good, and I'm sitting down with my book club book now.

>95 richardderus: it is especially fun when the words come together in such a way isn't it? I won't be able to get to the final till Saturday, but I'm looking forward to it.

>97 MickyFine: thanks, Micky!

>98 richardderus: thanks, Richard!

>99 katiekrug: didja see me, Katie? A guy with a camera did come near our section at one point, but I'm not sure if we actually made the cut 😂

>100 klobrien2: oh fun! I found out today that my mom and I have the same starting word and we both got it in two haha

Well, we had great fun getting a bunch of family and friends together for tailgating, and then split up to our various sections for the game. It was an annoyingly close game, but a lot of fun and the Giants won to go 7-2 on the season so far. So we were in a good mood to congregate at the hotel, celebrate a couple of birthdays, and watch the Cowboys lose the late game.

I need to get going reading my book club book, The Night Watchman, so I'm calling it an early night to make some progress before going to bed. My parents and I are headed out tomorrow, but not terribly early, so I can sleep in a little and take my time getting coffee and breakfast.

Wordle 513 3/6

🟨⬜⬜⬜🟩
🟨⬜⬜⬜⬜
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

ARISE, POUTY, MAPLE.

>103 bell7: I had an extra step, but still got there. Happy your Giants won! *smooch*

>103 bell7: I got it in 3 today, as well.

Wordle 514 5/6

🟨🟨⬜🟨⬜
🟩⬜🟩🟩⬜
🟩⬜🟩🟩⬜
🟩🟩🟩🟩⬜
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

Took awhile, but I got there! ARISE, SCARY, SHARP, SNARK, SNARL.

>104 richardderus: *smooch* back, Richard. It was a fun day, and a fun game - always better when they win!

>105 foggidawn: Threes are always fun, aren't they? My most common result is 4, followed by 5.

Well, I'm back from our weekend trip, and slept in a little to catch up on all the sleep lost over the last couple of days. We had about 13 friends and family get together for tailgating prior to the game, sat in three different locations, and then congregated back at the hotel to celebrate a couple of birthdays and the Giants win, watching the afternoon game.

I rode with my parents - my dad driving my car - back yesterday. My mom can't stay in the car for extremely long stretches, so we worked out a pit stop at a state park in Connecticut, walked for a bit, and took some pictures, before heading the rest of the way back. I was tired and out of it basically all day yesterday, got home at 3, got takeout for dinner, and went to Bible study.

Today I've got to do a quick grocery shopping, though I'm not planning on actually cooking, and then working 12-8. I also have to get going on my book club book, which I'm a little over halfway through, and we're discussing tomorrow. Tomorrow I have a haircut at 11, and then I'm working 12-8 because of book club. So right back in the thick of my busy schedule, but I'm not dogsitting again 'til Thanksgiving.

>107 bell7: I enjoy Mets games even when they...um...fail to prevail...because, well, it wasn't lookin' good in Game 7 back in 1969 et voilà!

>106 bell7: Our last two words were the same! I ended at 4, though.

>109 richardderus: Indeed, if you're a sports fan there's something special about both the unexpected wins and just the overall camaraderie of a shared interest, win or lose. Going to the Super Bowl with my dad and brothers will always be one of the highlights of my life, and it helps balance out the losing years.

Funny timing, too, I was just posting re: Wordle on your thread.

LOL

Well, it *is* a point of commonality among quite a lot of us these days. I really enjoy the game.

>111 richardderus: Same! Always interesting to see the path folks take to get there. And I know it happens somewhat frequently, but it always amuses me when folks post on each other's threads around the same time.

Wordle 515 4/6

🟨🟨⬜⬜🟨
🟩🟨🟨🟨⬜
🟩🟩⬜🟩🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

Hmmm, might've got it a little faster if I was paying better attention. Or maybe not. ARISE, BREAD, BARER, BAKER.

Happy Wednesday, Mary. I hope the week is humming along. We are enjoying (NOT!) winter weather here.

>113 bell7: Same number of steps to get to the amusingly à propos word.

Happy Humpday, Mary, hoping you're happy and healthy and ready for two years of election campaigning. Why hasn't a just and merciful gawd called her bestie the 45th home already? Evangelicals say he's her favorite son, so bring him home already.

>114 msf59: Morning, Mark! Rather than slowly transition into winter, here in New England we had 70 degrees just a few days ago, and last night I drove home in the snow. It's raining now, so it'll melt, but still - too early.

>115 richardderus: It was a fun word result, Richard. Can't say the same for political campaigning. I try to pay attention enough to be informed but not to get out of control anxious about the state of the world, an increasingly difficult balance to strike. At least there's still books to keep me grounded!

113. The Night Watchman by Louise Erdrich
Why now? Book club book - just under the wire, as we're discussing it tonight

In 1953, Chippewas on the Turtle Mountain reservation learn that the United States government is debating a bill to terminate their treaties and take their land. The night watchman of the jewel bearing plant, Thomas Wazhashk, heads up a group who are determined not to let that happen.

Though this story is the through line plot, as in many of Erdrich's tales, there's much more going on and many more characters whose lives intersect with one another. Patrice Paranteau, who'd like to leave her nickname Pixie behind, watches over her own family. Her mother, Zhaanat, knows the tribe's lore and history, and was kept from the boarding schools. Then there's a boxer, his teacher, the ghost of Thomas's friend, and a whole host of people potentially impacted by this bill. Thomas is based on the author's own grandfather, who did indeed fight the termination bill in the 1950s, and left behind letters to his family from the time period. This Pulitzer Prize-winning novel is a solid book club pick. 4.5 stars.

Book discussion was truly excellent today. Some of my regulars couldn't make it, but two did, one of the new folks from last month returned, and we had two other new folks for a total of six. We discussed our general thoughts on the book - my go-to first question is, "What were your impressions of the book?" rather than "Did you like it?" - and while everyone really liked it, we didn't stop there but had a lot to pick apart. We talked about Thomas and his character, what he is a watchman over, and how important he was to his community. We discussed other characters, too, including Patrice/Pixie and Millie. One of the folks there wanted to know what we thought of the ghost of Roderick showing up. We discussed stereotypes of American Indians and how the book dismantled them. Afterward, one of the attendees thanked me for a great discussion and said we easily could've talked for another hour.

I also revealed the books we'll be discussing in 2023, and I'll post them here soon - I left the list at work!

By the way, I almost forgot, but today is my fifteenth Thingaversary!

>119 bell7: Oh, happy fifteenth! My goodness how the times they do fly. How on Earth would we all have made it through these unpleasant passages or enjoyed our best ones had it not been for our happy little band?!

>118 bell7: I'm really glad a good discussion was had by all.

>120 richardderus: Thanks, Richard! I always tend to forget the exact day, because I signed up after hearing about it in grad school, slowly added my personal library, and only gradually got more involved in Talk and other aspects of the site. If it hadn't been for Tim's message about the Fifteener award, I probably would've forgot again. But definitely this site and the 75ers (current and former) have made a truly special place for me, and have been friends through highs and lows, and certainly my TBR list wouldn't be the same if it wasn't for all of you and your incessant recommendations :D

Wordle 516 4/6

⬜🟨⬜⬜🟩
⬜⬜⬜🟨⬜
🟨⬜🟨🟩🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

ARISE, POUTY, ENTRE, THERE for a satisfying and answer in four.

>122 bell7: I took three, but got four letters in the first two words.

Hope it's a Thursday to remember!

>121 bell7: My joining LibraryThing story is pretty dang similar, Mary. Joined during my first year of library school but didn't really start cataloguing or participating in Talk until a year or so later.

Glad to hear book club went so well. Looking forward to seeing next year's list!

>123 richardderus: Thanks, Richard! I've got a few errands lined up after work and am hoping to be home in time for a Zoom event with the Western Mass Genealogical Society, so I'm keeping as busy as ever!

>124 MickyFine: Well, here's the list now so I don't forget :)

January - Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann
February - The Sweetness of Water by Nathan Harris
March - Facing the Mountain by Daniel James Brown
April - Wingshooters by Nina Revoyr
May - All We Can Save edited by Ayana Elizabeth Johnson and Katherine E. Wilkerson
Summer - we take a break as I haven't had enough attendees to go through the summer, but decided this year that in June, July and August, I'll try something different and have folks come in and take a few moments to talk about what they're reading.
September - The Overstory by Richard Powers (the one book on the list I've read, and I'm not super enthusiastic about rereading it)
October - Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver
November - Crooked hallelujah by Kelli Jo Ford
December - The Violin Conspiracy by Brendan Slocumb

Other than having to reread the 500-page long tome in September, I'm really very pleased with the results. We've got a good mix of fiction and nonfiction, and authors of various backgrounds. We do tend towards the literary, historical fiction, and nonfiction that's either memoir, about race, or about climate, and that's pretty well reflected in this list as well.

Great book club picks!

Yes, I agree with Nora! These are wonderful choices. All good wishes for a great Thanksgiving holiday.

>119 bell7: Happy Thingaversary!

You made me curious, so I went to look at when I joined. Last month marked 17 years for me, crazy!

>119 bell7: Belated happy 15th Thingaversary, Mary!

I am glad you found this special corner of the world wide web fifteen years ago :-)

>126 norabelle414: Thanks, Nora! I'm pretty excited for it.

>127 Whisper1: Thank you, Linda! I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving and holiday season.

>128 ursula: Thanks, Ursula, and happy belated Thingaversary to you as well! The years just fly by, no?

>129 FAMeulstee: Thank you, Anita! It's a special place, and I'm glad all of us have found it as well :)

Wordle 517 4/6

⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜
🟨⬜⬜⬜🟨
🟨🟨⬜⬜🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

ARISE, POUTY, LYNCH, GLYPH. I knew it wasn't guess #3, but I wasn't coming up with the right word and used it to eliminate some letters. Then the right word finally presented itself to my brain. I liked this one though.

Happy Friday, Mary. You liked The Night Watchman much more than I did. It didn't feel as focused as some of her better work. Glad you were happier with it. I do have The Sentence on shelf.

>125 bell7: Good list. I loved Killers of the Flower Moon. Great one to kick the year off with. I am also a big fan of The Overstory. Nice Club choice. Facing the Mountain sounds really good too. I had not heard of that one.

TGIF! Busy day yesterday, busy day today. I get to relax tomorrow?

Yesterday I lined up a few errands after work. The work day was busy, I got a lot done and it went by fast. I got super frustrated with a patron who had trouble logging into his email, and instead of getting us to help tried to restart the computer and then it wouldn't turn back on. This person does not like to use any computer besides this particular one, so switching while I emailed IT was a whole thing. Thankfully it turned out to be a very easy fix and I had the patron back on his preferred machine within about ten minutes. It was quite the start to the afternoon though.

After work, I dropped off my multicooker at my brother's so my SIL can use it for Thanksgiving cooking, stopped in to touch base with the folks I'll be dogsitting for over Thanksgiving weekend and get a key, and then hightailed it home to get in by 7 and lot in to a genealogy event the local society I just joined was doing over Zoom. I had my video off and cooked dinner while I listened to folks discussing some of the interesting stories they've discovered while working on their family history, and it was really fun. This was the first meeting I'd been able to join in on, but I'm looking forward to becoming involved and learning more about how I'm *really* supposed to go about researching genealogy. I've been bumbling along on my own for a few years now, and while I've been good about citing the sources on my dad's side, I've been less careful on my mom's and need to redo it all.

Today I'm working, followed by volunteering at the church. I'll be getting home close to 9 and pretty much be ready for reading in bed when I arrive.

Tomorrow, though, I have no real plans. I have some tidying up around the house and garden (pulling up my tomato plants and the cages around them) that I'd like to do, but nothing too pressing and nowhere I have to be.

>132 msf59: Happy Friday, Mark! I agree that it probably wasn't as good as some of her others - my favorite is still The Round House - but ultimately if it's a book I would reread, I give it 4.5 stars as a default. And I do think I'd reread The Night Watchman. There was still a good deal of depth and symbolism that I'd probably catch more on a reread than I did in a first pass (especially rushing the second half so I was done in time for discussion). Though I wasn't as much of a fan of The Overstory, I do think that it would make a good discussion book. My book club read The Boys in the Boat a few years back by the same author, but I hadn't heard of Facing the Mountain before someone suggested it for our 2023 reads and am looking forward to it!

>133 bell7: *whew* for one day without something to do!

I got Wordle in 3 today because I had nine letters eliminated so could only come up with one word that fit the pattern...thank goodness the tenth letter was in the correct place!!

Have a lovely tomorrow, after the hustlebustle of today.

Days with nothing are THE BEST.

Also, do you have to re-read The Overstory? Is skimming and looking at your review from your previous encounter an option?

>135 richardderus: I need it like you wouldn't believe to fill my empathy meter back up. My patience is THIN right now, let me tell you.

>136 MickyFine: It's not entirely nothing... I'll putter around and clean stuff up at home. But it's stuff I WANT to be doing, and there's no deadline but my own. Re: The Overstory, I probably don't exactly have to reread it word for word, but the one time I didn't finish a book (and it was a reread, too), I felt pretty lost at sea as a facilitator, so I try very hard to read a book in its entirety. Listening to the audiobook while I knit or clean would pretty much be skimming it, and I'm leaning towards that direction.

>137 bell7: So, perfectly timed respite, then!

>138 richardderus: Yeah, it's been a long week. I am just teasing you about the poetry book, though. Sorry it ended up being a not-so-great read. *smooch*

>139 bell7: Heh...of course you were, I knew that...and I'm not really surprised I hate it because, as is my habit, I tried to read it like a prose work. It's not. Reading it that way is always going to disappoint because that's like watching The Thin Man and being annoyed that it isn't Batman Begins. There's a way to read poetry, a skill that leads one to understand things that are...and aren't...being said to create a whole experience.

I don't care about poetry or want to learn that skill, so it's my fault for bucking a lifetime's indifference with no interest in changing. *sigh*

>140 richardderus: I'm with you about poetry, honestly. I usually can't read it in the right way, and while I'm occasionally try a book in April for poetry month, with very few exceptions, it's not my jam. I do like Shakespeare though 🤷‍♀️

Wordle 518 3/6

🟩🟨⬜⬜🟨
🟩⬜🟨🟨⬜
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

ARISE, ACRED (surprised that was accepted), AVERT. Probably should've got it in two, but I can't really complain about a three day.

I hope you're having a great day doing whatever you choose, Mary. And congrats on your 3!

>143 MickyFine: Thanks, Micky! I've read a bit, watched some Netflix, and tidied up in the house. I'm definitely getting my mojo back after staying at home like the homebody/introvert I truly am!

114. The Ghost Bride by Yangsze Choo
Why now? This month's ABC challenge - Yangsze Choo is Malaysian of Chinese descent, though she herself was born in the Philippines, grew up all over (her father was a diplomat), went to Harvard and lives in the U.S. now

Li Lan is an innocent seventeen, the daughter of a widower who loses himself in opium regularly. A neighboring family has a young man who has died, and they propose that she become his ghost bride: to go through a wedding ceremony and live in the family home as a widow. She wants to turn him down, but then he starts visiting her in her dreams, and she has to use all her ingenuity to escape the ghost's plan for her.

I had high expectations going into Yangsze Choo's debut, as I'd read The Night Tiger last year and really enjoyed it. I had a much harder time getting into The Ghost Bride. It was a mix, I think, of my reading of it taking longer than normal and also that it took some time to develop. Li Lan narrates and is very naive at the start, which was frustrating. The beginning starts realistic, and then takes a turn as Li Lan's spirit is separated from her body and has adventures in the realm of the dead, based in part on Chinese Malaysian folklore. I was invested enough to want to know what would happen, but I had a hard time connecting to any of the other characters and didn't really care who Li Lan ended up with in the end. 3.5 stars.

115. The Golden Enclaves by Naomi Novik
Why now? I really enjoyed the trilogy so far, and had the newest on pre-order. It took me a little while to get to it, but I wedged it into my reading as soon as I could.

*Necessarily has spoilers for A Deadly Education and The Last Graduate.*

El and her friends figured out a way to escape from the Scholomance and throw it into the void, but instead of coming with them, Orion Lake pushed her out and stayed behind with Patience the maw-mouth ready to eat him and leave him suspended in not-quite-death. Now she's determined to get him back, but along her way in navigating her life in the real world, a magical enclave needs help and El reluctantly answers their call, all the while trying to avoid her prophesied destiny of becoming a destroyer.

Part of why I really enjoyed the first two books was the setting of the Scholomance, so having it be in a totally new setting - and actually, quite a lot of traveling - was an adjustment for me. We also don't get quite as much of El's funny snark, or perhaps it was more my mood and the fact that it took me longer than usual to read that meant I didn't love it as much as I'd expected to. Events begin directly after the end of The Last Graduate and take you all over the world with El and her friends figuring stuff out. In fact, a lot of the things that were first mentioned in the first book - El's prophecy, how enclaves are made, "stay away from Orion Lake" - are all finally explained as El discovers more about how things actually work and the kind of person she wants to be. It was a bit sprawling, but was brought together in a satisfying way in the end. 4 stars.

I think I might just be in a really picky mood right now, as I expected to like both of the books I finished today better than I did. I also watched the finale of Great British Baking Show:

It was alright. There was nothing stellar about any of the bakes, and it pretty much could've gone any way and I wouldn't have been upset. So in a sense, it was fitting - the whole season was kinda one big *shrug*

Lest you think I'm hating everything right now, I restarted watching Derry Girls in preparation for season 3 and it's even funnier than I remembered.

>147 bell7: Yeup. Agreed.

>145 bell7: I liked it a little better than you did. Not that much, but a little bit more...I invested more emotional reality into her fate. I can certainly see how the somewhat chaotic presentation might lead you to reach other conclusions, though.

Onward and upward into the better reads of Sunday!

Hope you are enjoying your peaceful day :)

>147 bell7: - Agree about GBBO/S. Yawn-fest.

Season 1 of Derry Girls is just so great. I enjoyed all three seasons but don't think it ever again reached the heights of the first season.

Have fun at the game today! Did you find someone to use the ticket?

>148 richardderus: The difference in how much we enjoyed The Ghost Bride is, I think, the length of time it took me to read it. I had to put it down for a few days to concentrate on my book club book, and if I was tired I wasn't reading as much before bed, and I think drawing it out like that left me less emotionally invested in how things ended up.

>149 figsfromthistle: Thanks, Anita! I really did.

>150 katiekrug: Derry Girls is fantastic, and I swear it's even better a second time around. Next one for me is episode 3 of season 2, and I'm still enjoying it very much. Also, at only 20 minutes an episode it's quite easy to binge.

My whole family couldn't use the ticket hahaha, but I ended up selling it (for a bit less than face value) on the ticket exchange. Rather than sit by myself, I just went in with my dad and his friend from law school (you haven't met him yet, but he's the guy we usually meet up for tailgating) into the third level and though it got crowded around us I was never bothered or asked to move. And of course, then it was an awful game and a bunch of people left in the 3rd quarter. Oh well! My brother and I exchanged extra tickets for the next two home games, so we'll go together to the Commanders and Eagles, both of which will be HUGE games.

Wordle 520 4/6

🟩⬜🟩⬜⬜
🟩⬜🟩⬜⬜
🟩🟨🟩⬜⬜
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

ARISE, ALIGN, AMITY, AXIOM. That was fun! I did it yesterday too but I forget if it took me four or five.

Hi, Mary. Sorry to hear the Giants got clobbered. It seemed to be a day of upsets. My Bears lost once again too. I would like to get to The Night Tiger at some point.

Good Monday morning, all! My day on Saturday was a lovely, relaxed day and I got some chores done at home that had been bugging me.

Sunday was a whirlwind, but I knew that. I got up at 6 a.m., got myself to my parents' and headed out to NJ with my dad for the Giants game. We met up with a friend of his from law school who has an amazing spread at his tailgate nearly every week, and I talked to a couple of folks that I'd met last month, one of whom is a big reader. We're both reading A Snake Falls to Earth since it was recently the Big Library Read on Overdrive/Libby, so that was a fun connection. Oh, and the food they have is amazing - filet mignon grilled, sliced, and put on garlic bread is one of my absolute favorite things, but sadly turned out to be the highlight of the day. The game sucked, quite frankly. So I'm 2-1 now in wins and losses I've been to in person. I'm planning on going to an unprecedented 5 games this season, and have two more cold-weather games to go before calling it a day. Hopefully at least one of those will be another win.

Today I'm planning a day much like Saturday. I have a few things I'd like to get done, but I'll take my time and continue to catch up on things at home, then I have Bible study in the evening. One thing I definitely have to do is going out and get a blood test for Lyme disease after finding a tick on me two weeks ago. I haven't had symptoms and don't really think I have it, but want to be on the safe side and catch it early if I do. The lab is just a few minutes from my house, and shouldn't take me long.

>153 msf59: It sure was a day of upsets, Mark! Sorry for your Bears - they've had a rough season so far. With this loss - and maybe especially with the injuries - the Giants just made their playoff picture a lot more interesting. Washington is coming in strong, and forget about winning the division (which wasn't likely to begin with), the G-men may find themselves out of the wild card race if they can't find a way to win over the Commanders in December. The Thanksgiving game is looking bleak against the Cowboys.

Fun fact: we ran into a couple of Lions fans after the game who talked to my dad and mentioned that, with the Buffalo Bills having to play in Detroit because of the snowstorm last week, they have now won as many games in that stadium as the Lions themselves so far this year. Their game on Thanksgiving will break that tie.

116. and 117. My Brother's Husband (volumes 1 and 2) by Gengoroh Tagame
Why now? I meet with librarians over Zoom to talk about books, and someone mentioned this title as a good one.

Yaichi finds himself mourning for his twin brother, Ryoji, and coming to terms with his brother's gay identity when his Canadian husband, Mike Flanagan, comes for a visit to Japan. Yaichi is raising his daughter, Kana, as a single dad and finds that's she's instantly accepting of her uncle while he has more complicated feelings.

This slice-of-life manga explores the way Japanese culture treats - or perhaps more accurately, ignores - the LGBTQ community, primarily through Yaichi's working through his own complicated feelings about his brother and brother-in-law and how he navigates parenting Kana. The manga-ka is an out gay man, and through this story, he reveals the ways in which both Japanese and North American culture can accept, ignore or harm. The art is realistic, and I didn't have any trouble following the panels from right to left, though it's been awhile since I've read a manga besides a reread of Fruits Basket. I especially enjoyed how some panels would show what Yaichi actually wanted to say through a thought bubble, and then what he actually did. Though there are sad moments, it's a heartwarming read of acceptance and one I would recommend. 4 stars.

Sorry the game was so sucky. I ended up leaving it on the TV but did some cleaning and only listened with half an ear to the last half...

>156 bell7: I liked these comics more than I ever thought I would. It's quite telling what we, in the US at least, simply ignore in Japanese culture...their astoundingly open and deeply revolting racism, f/ex, and the country's indifference to any and all other cultures' opinions if they don't match their own.

Anyway, best-outcome *whammy* on the blood test today! *smooch*

Enjoy another chill day at home and, like Richard, I'm sending all the good thoughts for your blood test today.

Wordle 521 5/6

⬜🟩🟩⬜🟩
⬜🟩🟩⬜🟩
⬜🟩🟩🟨🟩
🟩🟩🟩⬜🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

Lots of options for this one! ARISE, BRIDE, TRIPE, PRICE, PRIME.

>157 katiekrug: Before last year, the last win I'd seen in person was the 2012 Super Bowl, so I guess I can't get too annoyed with seeing one loss so far this year. I am worried about the latest injuries, though, and I don't expect them to do well on Thanksgiving.

>158 richardderus: I thought of you while I was reading them and wondered what you would think, despite your aversion to comics. It was interesting reading and learning about another culture's issues, for sure. We tend to get wrapped up in our own challenges and think everyone does it better, but that's not the case. And, I thought that the conversation Yaichi has with the homeroom teacher fits *exactly* with some of the laws being rolled out in the U.S. in some states regarding what you can and can't say at certain ages. The push and pull of that recognition and difference made it fascinating reading for me.

>158 richardderus: >159 MickyFine: Thanks re: the blood test. I didn't get it after all - I showed up at the lab and they said they didn't have the order for it. If I don't get it today, I can try again next Monday, I guess, but truthfully I haven't had any symptoms and doubt it'll come back positive.

Happy Tuesday! Saturday was fairly quiet, Sunday was lots of travel and a sad, sad football game. Yesterday I did almost nothing but a puzzle - did you know that "750" piece puzzles are actually (usually, not guaranteed) around 768 pieces? I brought one home from work because we had a donation of 5 panoramic puzzles that are 750 pieces and a couple of them came back from the volunteer counters saying there were more than 750. They didn't count wrong, and there weren't any extra in the one I did of Niagara Falls to confirm. I'm not going to do all 5 puzzles, though, so I brought them back to ask my boss how she wanted to handle it because we can't reliably count pieces to establish that none are missing.

This morning I made up for taking a quiet weekend and took care of a lot of the small things that had been piling up and annoying me. I tidied up my desk, called my house insurance company to see if I was getting a discount I should be (I'm not, so I have to follow up on that), did my filing while I looked for the receipt to send to my insurance company, went to the post office, dropped my jacket off at the dry cleaners, that kind of thing. So now I'm feeling accomplished, and when I go home and knit in front of Derry Girls before I go to bed, I will feel like I've earned the rest.

>162 bell7: I definitely felt lied to when I learned that the nice round number on puzzle boxes is more of a "give or take" kind of thing.

>162 bell7: You're absolutely blowing my mind. I thought there were 750 pieces!!

When my mom owned a small shop she had a puzzle out on one of the tables that customers could work on at their leisure. She made up a little sign to go next to it that said "There are probably pieces missing from this puzzle, participate at your own risk"

Wordle 522 3/6

⬜🟩🟩⬜🟩
⬜🟩🟩🟨🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

I got a little lucky with guess 2 in what could've become a guessing game. ARISE, BRIDE, DRIVE.

>163 curioussquared: It's SO WEIRD, right? I mean... I guess it's cleaner to have a nice round number, but "approximately" isn't that hard hahaha.

>164 norabelle414: We're planning on doing something similar at the library, though the puzzles we're putting out for patrons to do are brand new, and then we're circulating them. The circulating ones have no guarantee, and we're going to put a note on them asking folks to let us know when they're missing pieces. So she just decided that we'll put all five out to circulate.

Good morning, all! It's the last day of work before Thanksgiving, and we're closing at 5 p.m. instead of 8. Doesn't affect my shift personally, but it's a nice thing for the night before the holiday when so many folks have to cook or otherwise prepare. In fact, I am planning on coming home and baking a pie, though I have to stop at the grocery store on the way home (ugh) because I just realized I used up all the flour last week and forgot to get more. We'll see if I have the ability to fight the crowds and get anything else. I have plenty of stuff to make a couple of soups, but realized last night when I was peckish that I have very little snack-y or otherwise easy foods on hand, so I may pick some up to carry me over the weekend.

While the pie is baking, I'm thinking of putting up my Christmas tree, too. I'll be doing a fair amount of dogsitting right after Christmas, so I want to enjoy it as much as possible. And Christmas and Thanksgiving always bleed into each other a little for me anyway - I've already started listening to Christmas music.

>165 bell7: I got it in three today, too.

Happy Thanksgiving! Good luck at the grocery store, and have fun putting up your tree!

>167 bell7: I realized I forgot something at the store, too, so will need to make a quick run today. The worst! We never put up a tree until after Thanksgiving, but I have started listening to my first holiday romance novel of the year :)

Much luck braving the store after work, Mary!

I'm mostly a strict about it being December 1 before anything Christmas-y happens in my house, although I'll be decorating a little earlier this year as I prefer doing that on the weekend rather than a week night. Christmas music, movies, and reads will all wait until December though. :)

I went to Stop'n'Shop at 2pm today and there was a cashier *completely*free* when I walked up with my loaf of bread and seven-layer bars. I was *gobsmacked*!

Thank you as always for books, thank you for this group and thanks for you. Have a lovely day, Mary.

>168 foggidawn: Thanks, Misti! I ended up not putting up the tree, but I'm thinking I will on Sunday, instead.

>169 curioussquared: Hope you had an easy time getting through the store, Natalie! I will say, one thing that's nice about the store I usually use is they have both self-checkout machines and the ability to use their app to scan stuff out. When I have just one or two things to pick up, I've utilized both and love not having to wait in line.

>170 MickyFine: I used to be much more strict about "after Thanksgiving," but as I look ahead to dogsitting two weekends in December and starting a job very soon after Christmas, I decided I wanted to take my time enjoying it all instead of scrunching it into four weeks.

>171 richardderus: That is impressive, Richard! I'm glad you were able to get in and out without dealing with all us last-minute shoppers.

>172 PaulCranswick: Thank you, Paul! Hope you have a wonderful day as well.

Wordle 523 3/6

🟨⬜⬜🟩🟨
⬜⬜⬜🟨⬜
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

ARISE, POUTY, FEAST. Very fitting.

Happy Thanksgiving to all who celebrate!

Yesterday I braved the grocery store and got the groceries I needed for the pies and appetizer. The parking lot was full, but I've seen worse - I parked way out where I knew it would be easiest to get out even if I had a slightly longer walk in. There were a fair amount of shoppers, but not as bad as I thought, and the store had plenty of cashiers on. I got home, ate dinner, and made two cranberry pies. And no, I don't know why, but I really just thought I should make two. *shrug* I did not put up my Christmas tree, but I did watch five episodes of Season 3 of Derry Girls while baking and knitting a hat I've been working on for a friend.

Today there's a short service at the church I'd like to go to, and then I'm planning on coming back here to make a cheese dip as an appetizer. I'll pack up the car and head to the dogsitting job I'm doing this weekend. Thankfully, it's an easy dog, but I want to make sure she'll be set while I'm away on my own Thanksgiving plans. My SIL says we can come over anytime after 12:30. Dinner is at 3:30, and we will watch the Giants game. We'll have the whole family together, which is a feat in and of itself. I'm excited to see everyone, and spend more time with my niece and nephew tomorrow, which I took off from work as my floating holiday.

>174 bell7: It was a four for me today and when I solved it I thought it was little on the nose. LOL.

Have a great time with your family today!

>174 bell7: what >176 MickyFine: said

*smooch*

>176 MickyFine: >177 richardderus: Yeah, it was a bit, I even thought so as I typed it in.

Wordle 524 4/6

⬜⬜🟨⬜⬜
⬜⬜⬜🟨🟩
🟨🟨⬜⬜🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

ARISE, POUTY, TINNY, ITCHY.

Happy Friday, Mary. I hope you had a nice Thanksgiving with your family. Sorry, your Giants lost but it was a good, entertaining game. Do you work the weekend?

>179 bell7: Moi aussi. Have a lovely not-shopping day, Mary!

>180 msf59: It was a good game, though I would've liked to see them drive down the field with a little more urgency with 7 minutes left... Ah well, I didn't really expect a win after all the injuries they suffered Sunday. I'm not working over the weekend - I took today off as my floating holiday and go back to work Monday. I've been visiting family as much as possible :D

>181 richardderus: Thanks, Richard! Goodness, no, wasn't about to shop today! It was a pleasant day hanging out with my sisters, BIL, niece and nephew, and my parents.

Wordle 525 4/6

🟨⬜⬜⬜🟨
⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜
⬜🟩🟨⬜🟨
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

Messed up a bit with guess #3 but it still got me there. ARISE, POUTY, GLADE, CLEAN.

Wordle 526 3/6

🟨⬜⬜⬜⬜
🟨⬜⬜⬜🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

Well that was a fun surprise! ARISE, POUTY, HAPPY.

118. A Snake Falls to Earth by Darcie Little Badger
Why now? Oh it was on my list, as I liked Elatsoe AND Snake was a Newbery Honor this year, so it was just a matter of time - but I downloaded the e-book (and audio) when it was the Libby/Overdrive Big Library Read earlier this month.

Nina learns a family story from her great-great grandmother, and realizes that there's something special about her long-lived Lipan Apache family. Her grandmother still lives on land that has been in the family for generations, though a new neighbor is making trouble for them. In the Reflecting World, which used to be joined more directly to our world but now only has a few connecting points, a young cottonmouth animal person, Oli, sets out on his own and makes friends with a toad and coyote sisters.

The story is set up very deliberately, starting when Nina is nine and working its way through the years and finally when the two stories intertwine - and of course, the title tells you they will, so it's not much of a spoiler to say that - the action really gets started. I liked seeing both Nina and Oli find their place in the world and stand up for their friends and family. The time is never specified, but it feels just a little bit in our future with Nina's use of her phone and private video diary, when climate change has impacted us enough that Texas gets hit with hurricanes regularly. It had the sort of quality of a magical tale that reminded me of the feel of The Underneath, even though the stories themselves were quite different. 4 stars.

Wordle 527 3/6

⬜⬜🟨⬜🟨
🟨⬜⬜🟨⬜
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

ARISE, POUTY, TEPID. I almost used a different second word, but I'm glad I went with my usual!

Happy Monday! It's been a busy but fun weekend visiting with family and dogsitting. Now I'm back home till Friday when I have an overnight dogsitting gig, and then another busy weekend in store. Work will just about be a break at this rate.

My tree is up and much of my Christmas decorations are out. I have a couple of wreaths to put up in my living room, and then my house will officially be all decked out.

I didn't get a lot of reading done the past few days, but I did finish one book early yesterday morning. I'm currently reading Mexican Gothic and The Mountains Sing, both books I was hoping to get to last month and at this rate may not finish until December. So far they're both good, compelling reads.

>187 bell7: Work will just about be a break at this rate should be the title of your future biographer's monograph on "In vivo librarians of the 21st Century". They and their vat-cohort will no doubt reflect in wonder on the sheer labor-intensiveness of the pre-Cortex Early Knowledge Economy century.

Progress through the process, Knowledge Worker.

>187 bell7: Congrats on getting most of your decorations up this week. I haven't quite reached the point where work feels like a break, but I am looking forward to a weekend where we have no commitments (at this point, I think we have one weekend in mid-December that's plan free).

Interested to see what you think of Mexican Gothic! That's one I've been meaning to get to for ages.

Yay for having most of your decorations up! I started a little -- changed my holiday goose into its Christmas outfit, and put out a Christmas throw pillow -- but still have a lot of decorating to go.

>188 richardderus: Hehe... well, it's almost December, so needs must. At least I'm no longer double-booked for dogsitting on Saturday - I'd forgotten to put a job in my calendar, but they changed it to Friday night for me so crisis averted.

>189 MickyFine: I... don't think I have any weekend free from here 'til April 8, if you count dogsitting? I'll probably take a day off here and there just to, well, have a day off. Though the Giants games are my own fault.

>190 curioussquared: So far I'm really enjoying it, Natalie. It's creepy but not the type of horror I can't handle (I'm about 100 pages in, so we'll see what happens...). I ordered a couple of wreath hangers from Amazon today, so I believe when they arrive on Sunday I'll get everything completely done. I like to hang them in front of my windows in the living room, but messing around with twine hanging them off the curtain rods is a pain, so I'm trying something new this year.

Wordle 528 4/6

⬜⬜⬜⬜🟩
⬜⬜🟨⬜⬜
⬜🟨⬜🟩🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

That was interesting. ARISE, POUTY, QUEUE, UNDUE.

Hi Mary, I'm all caught up with you again. It's hard to keep up with everyone during this busy time of year. I call myself "busy" until I read your schedule with work, dogsitting and family. Compared to you, I have it pretty easy. ;-)

>125 bell7: I love book club lists and yours doesn't disappoint. There are a few titles I'm not familiar with: The Sweetness of Water, Facing the Mountain (love this author), Wingshooters, and Crooked Hallelujah. Must investigate.

>166 bell7: I was a bit puzzled by the puzzle numbers discussion until I realized they were going to be checked out to library patrons. Great idea. Still, if I were a puzzler I don't think I would count the pieces as I worked. Haha.

Your Thanksgiving with family sounds lovely. We had a good time in Colorado, but missed my more local family. Ah, life is full of difficult choices. I'm just glad we can still drive that 12-hour trip to CO in one (long) day!

>193 Donna828: Hello, Donna, thanks so much for visiting! I'm really excited about our book club list. I hadn't heard of Facing the Mountain, though we read Boys in the Boat a few years back (during an Olympic year, no less). I'll look forward to your thoughts on any and all of them.

I didn't actually count every piece - just the edges and multiplied, and then Googled to find out about puzzles in general :D

I'm fortunate to have most of my family local, and the only non-local are only about an hour and a half plane ride away. I admire your ability to drive 12 hours in one day - I can do about 6 but that's it on my own, maybe 8 if someone else is driving.

>192 bell7: It was, wasn't it.

Happy Tuesday, TBR-fattener. *smooch*

Hiya, Mary.

I enjoyed all the GBBO comments. I watch with Madame MBH and our grown-up daughter, who keep up a non-stop commentary - especially our daughter. We were happy with the winner, and the other two finalists seemed to be, too.

I’m glad Crying in H Mart worked reasonably well for you; me, too. I listened online to a lot of her music after reading it. I know she and her band Japanese Breakfast have avid fans, but I have to admit I’m the wrong audience. Her book got me curious enough to listen, though. What a good writer she is.

Wordle 529 3/6

⬜⬜⬜🟨⬜
⬜⬜🟩🟨🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

After the first two words gave me what they did, guess #3 was the only word I could think of: ARISE, POUTY, STUDY.

>195 richardderus: I didn't think it would actually count, considering all the perfectly acceptable words that don't. But hey - I got it in a reasonable amount of guesses, so I'm gruntled. I have a stack of NYT Book Reviews piling up waiting for me to peruse them - maybe tonight? - and send them along as well.

>196 jnwelch: Thanks, Joe, I hope you've been enjoying the season. I wasn't surprised or particularly upset by the winner, just thought that there have been better seasons. Hard to tell at this point if it's me sick of the same old thing or if it's really the show. Though I did re-watch the holiday special with the cast from Derry Girls and it still makes me laugh. I still haven't tried any of Michelle Zauner's music, and I really should, so thanks for that reminder. I usually stick to pop/soft rock myself, but every now and again I like to stretch my listening.

Good morning, all! I am up, have coffee, and will shortly be getting ready for the day. I'm working 9-5, after which I want to do a quick grocery shopping so that I'm set for a couple of days. I should have a pretty relaxing evening, though, as I still have leftover soup and cornbread from yesterday morning's cooking. I'll either knit and watch a Christmas movie or read, depending on what I feel like. I might think about starting a new thread, too.

Tomorrow I'm getting a freezer and dehumidifier picked up for our local rebate program, so I need to remember to plug them in tonight. The freezer came with the house and I never use it, so it'll be a nice bonus to get it out, honestly. (I just hope it'll actually cool overnight.) The dehumidifier is super inefficient and I'd already replaced it but it's been taking up a little space in the basement and I'll be happy to have both go, rebate or no. They give a four-hour window for pickup, and thankfully mine is 8:30 to 12:30, so after they leave, whenever that is, I can head to work for the rest of my shift.

>199 bell7: It sounds like a lightly-activitied delight of a day, Mary! No rush on my account re: NYTBR...I'm still reeling!

Happy decluttering day!

Slightly belated, but as promised, here's a photo of the socks for my nephew (multi-colored on the left) and niece (orange and pink on the right):



They were thrilled to bits and both chose to wear them the day after Thanksgiving (the day I gifted them); I even got them to be still enough for *one* picture before they went running about their day.

>200 richardderus: I always have good intentions to keep up but as per usual, I get backed up and then stressed out and then decide I just have to plow right through to catch up haha. I probably should let myself off the hook, because I feel like I should take the time to read every review, but truthfully for the books I want to read they give too much away, so I'm really better off scanning through the titles and reading the articles that interest me about books I *won't* read, because those are the ones I find most entertaining. Hmmm... maybe I'll bring some to work. After all, knowing *about* books that are coming out is important, no?

>202 bell7: Heh...YES! For a public-facing librarian it's more important to know about what you won't read than what you want to read because they'll inevitably be the ones people ask you about.

>201 bell7: Completely, totally adorable. My purple octopus is currently gazing back at me from the shelf next to my bed where he sleeps.

Happy Wednesday, Mary. I remember really enjoying Crooked Hallelujah, a few years back. I love reading Native American stories.

>203 richardderus: It's true! Though it does surprise many people, patrons and family alike, when I can successfully recommend a book I've never read.

Thank you re: the knitting, and I'm so glad your octopus has such an excellent place from which to gaze upon the world. That photo makes me laugh. I certainly do mutter while I knit the more complicated patterns!

>204 msf59: That's good to know, Mark, I'm looking forward to that one quite a bit.

>201 bell7: Those socks look nice and warm!

Congrats on getting most of your decorating done. I am going to try to decorate this week.

>206 figsfromthistle: Thanks on both counts, Anita! I'll be in and out dogsitting over the next few weekends, so decided to do it early and enjoy as much as possible.